Nightmares

Children have bogeymen. Adults have career failure, sickness and death, not to mention the latest horror story from the evening news.

No matter what your age, life supplies you with plenty of material for nightmares. Besides being unpleasant, nightmares also cut into your shut-eye time, and as modern life becomes more and more complicated, you need all of the rest you can get. The natural remedies in this chapter, used with your doctor’s approval, may help prevent nightmares or decrease their incidence, according to some health professionals.

Ayurveda

“If you dream about falling from heights, your nightmares are a sign of increased vata dosha, stemming from unresolved fears and anxieties,” says Vasant Lad, B.A.M.S., M.A.Sc., director of the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (For more information on the Ayurvedic doshas, see “All about Vata, Pitta and Kapha” on page 28.) He suggests eating early in the evening, avoiding carbonated beverages and drinking a cup of warm milk with a pinch of nutmeg before retiring.

Pitta nightmares are often violent, such as a house on fire. Heartburn, acid indigestion and other kinds of stomach upset can cause such dreams, Dr. Lad says. He recommends taking a mixture of warm water and ½ teaspoon each of the Indian herbal powders shatavari and brahmi every day after lunch and dinner. If your pitta nightmares are accompanied by fever and sweating, Dr. Lad says to take ½ teaspoon of the herbal preparation sudarshan churna two or three times daily.

Drowning dreams are a sign of excess kapha in the lungs and lymphatic tissue, Dr. Lad says. To stop these dreams, he recommends this mixture of powdered herbs: Add a pinch of pippali to ½ teaspoon each of punarnava and licorice, and mix with 1 teaspoon of honey. He says to eat this preparation at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

All of these herbs are available through Ayurvedic practitioners or by mail order (refer to the resource list on page 634). Punarnava is also available in Indian pharmacies; licorice can be purchased in most health food stores.

Flower Remedy/Essence Therapy

Daily use of the flower remedy Rockrose at bedtime can be very helpful for people prone to nightmares, according to Leslie J. Kaslof, an herbalist and author of The Traditional Flower Remedies of Dr. Edward Bach. Rockrose is available in some health food stores and through mail order (refer to the resource list on page 635).

For occasional nightmares, Eve Campanelli, Ph.D., a holistic family practitioner in Beverly Hills, California, recommends the emergency stress relief formula (sold under brand names such as Calming Essence, Rescue Remedy and Five-Flower Formula). “I have seen children who had horrible nightmares after losing their homes in the earthquakes,” says Dr. Campanelli. “I told their parents to give them a few drops of Rescue Remedy at bedtime, and the children slept peacefully all night.” The emergency stress relief formula is available in most health food stores and through mail order (refer to the resource list on page 635).

For more information on preparing and administering flower remedies, see page 37.

Food Therapy

Eat light at night, says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and president of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California. “Heavy food at night is thought to cause nightmares in some people, so if you’re prone, try to eat light for dinner.” That means fewer protein-rich meats and more pastas and other high-carbohydrate meals, which are more easily digested, he says.

Homeopathy

If you have nightmares about dying, hunger or problems at work and are depressed when you wake, try a 30C dose of Aurum, according to Andrew Lockie, M.D., in The Family Guide to Homeopathy. If you have disturbing dreams about fire or danger and have difficulty sleeping between midnight and 2:00 a.m., Dr. Lockie suggests a 30C dose of Arsenicum. Take these remedies one hour before going to bed for ten consecutive nights, he says. If your nightmares persist, see your medical doctor or homeopath.

Aurum and Arsenicum are available in many health food stores. To purchase the remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

Imagery

If a nightmare wakes you, sit up in bed and turn on the light. Close your eyes, and as you do, imagine yourself surrounded by a warm, loving white light, say Elizabeth Ann Barrett, R.N., Ph.D., professor and coordinator of the Center for Nursing Research at Hunter College of the City University of New York in New York City. This light can’t be penetrated by anything negative or harmful. See the light expand around you until it is three times your size. Know that the light loves you just the way you are and will allow nothing to hurt you. Open your eyes and turn out the light in the room, all the while keeping yourself embraced in the white light. Get comfortable in bed and close your eyes. Now let the nurturing white light fill the room. As you begin to drift off to sleep, sense that you have become a part of this loving light and that you are totally protected.